Everyman Cinema Reigate

Everyman Cinema Reigate sits on the High Street, in the middle of the town rather than out on a retail park, which changes what an evening there looks like. You can walk to it from a restaurant or a bar, or make the cinema itself the whole evening. It is a boutique operation: luxury seating, food and drink brought to you in the screen, craft cocktails, and a programme that is curated rather than simply whatever is biggest that week.

The £££ band is the honest signal here. This is not the price of a standard multiplex seat, and it is not trying to be. You are paying for the room, the seating, the service at your seat and the fact that the drinks list is taken seriously. Readers who want the cheapest way to see a new release will find it elsewhere. Readers who think of the cinema as a night out in its own right, closer in spirit to booking a table than to buying a ticket, will understand what the money is for.

It works best as a date night, and the venue is set up for that. In-screen dining means you do not have to build an evening around a separate booking and a walk between two places; the film and the meal are the same event. It also suits a small group who want something more comfortable than the usual, or anyone who would rather sit through a film with a proper drink than a paper cup.

Before booking, a few practical points. Programming at a curated cinema shifts, and it will not simply mirror the big chains, check what is actually on before you set out, particularly if you are travelling in for a specific title. Food and drink served during the film usually need to be ordered ahead or at the start, so allow time and arrive early rather than sliding in as the lights go down. Seating of this kind is limited in number, so popular showings go. And the High Street setting means parking is town-centre parking, with whatever that involves on a busy evening.

Reigate has a decent run of places to eat and drink, and this adds a different sort of evening to that list: one where the film is the point and the food arrives around it. For a town of this size, having a cinema of this type on the High Street is a real asset.